Lancaster High School Ohio: National Honor Society Selection Criteria

		Lancaster City Schools

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Torch National Honor Society logo National Honor Society

Induction Ceremony for new members

The Lancaster High School Chapter of the National Honor Society was chartered in 1933 to honor students who are outstanding in scholarship, leadership, service and character. Membership is never considered on the basis of grades alone. Students will be selected who demonstrate outstanding performance in all four criteria of scholarship, leadership, service and character.

Selection

Selection to NHS is a privilege, not a right. Students do not apply for membership in the National Honor Society; instead they provide information to be used by the local selection committee to support their candidacy for membership. Membership is granted only to those students selected by the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee is an anonymous committee of five teachers who vote for the new NHS inductees.

The selection process involves choosing junior and senior students who have achieved a 3.400 GPA (on a weighted 5.00 scale) by the end of the previous year.

This list of candidates is posted and then goes before all staff and students.

The staff rates the candidates on a 0-4.0 scale in areas of character, leadership, and service and can write any additional comments about each candidate. The staff signs this evaluation form and submits it to the NHS advisors by a given deadline.

Additionally, each qualifying student is notified of their candidacy and asked to pick up and sign for an information packet. The packet is an opportunity for a prospective member to provide any information about him or herself that the selection committee can evaluate: athletics, work history, volunteer work, special circumstances, their biography, etc. It is the student’s obligation to provide the required information by a predetermined deadline. Failure to complete the packet gives insufficient information about the student to the committee, indicates the student’s lack of interest, and automatically disqualifies the student for membership. The NHS advisors will deliver these information packets to all candidates who have failed to pick them up. This often pertains to the post-secondary students.

The teacher evaluation forms and student identification packets are received by the NHS advisors and scores are compiled.

The results of these evaluations are presented to the selection committee. The voting is done by a simple majority based on scholarship, character, leadership and service. The selection committee evaluates the average (mean) score in each criteria. No individual teacher’s evaluation will determine a student’s selection.

Candidates selected for membership are notified at school on the Monday preceding the induction ceremony. (The induction ceremony is usually held in the LHS auditorium on the first Thursday of December.)

Parents and guardians are notified of their child’s acceptance with a letter on that same day.

Academics Athletics LHS campus ePaper Store Guidance Students Parents Staff Alumni